A Silent Descent
by IveGotGameFAn
Summary: A murder committed in the middle of winter leads Flack, Angell, and the CSI team into a building that is the target of a terrorist attack, but when their lines of communication are cut the consequences could be deadly. Ch. 14 is up!
1. Chapter 1

**As promised, another fanfic! This will sort of be centered around Flack and Angell, but I will definitely throw in some Mac/Stella and maybe some Danny/Lindsay. **

**Disclaimer****: I own nothing except my own plot ideas! (in this chapter and the following ones)**

-Chapter 1-

The Manhattan air was crisp and smelled of impending snow as Detective Jessica Angell stepped out of the blatantly yellow cab and onto the busy street. January had barely started and the promise of a winter storm was already in the forecast for the upcoming week. The last snowfall had been on Christmas Eve and had fulfilled the promise of a white Christmas. But Angell was ready for more. Winter in New York City was an experience like no other. She thought of how floating snowflakes would meander their way past modern skyscrapers and old-fashioned cathedrals in an elegant pattern. The delightful laughs of passersby would echo as white flecks dotted their hats, hair, scarves, gloves, and any other type of winter apparel. Children often raced down the streets and through Central Park with their tongues out catching the season's newest delectable treat. A quiet hush always seemed to fall over the city as the enchanting flakes fell from the heavens. Angell grinned in delight. She could hardly wait for the snow.

-&-

Don Flack was in a bad mood. No...he was just downright _grumpy_. The New Year holiday had ended a week ago and with it had taken any semblance of a romance with Angell. Sure, the holiday season had been wonderful, but as of this morning she was gone for a week. He knew he was being selfish, but he just wanted to see her again. He had spent Christmas Eve with Angell on a romantic stroll through Central Park. Flack's present paperwork was pushed to the side as he was transported back to that evening. The wonder in her sparkling eyes as she had unwrapped and revealed his gift to her had frozen that moment in time...

_Christmas Eve_

_They walked hand in hand down the snow covered pathway through the heart of the park. The silence between them was comfortable as snowflakes fell around them. Jess's hair spilled out from under her white hat and was powdered with the wet flakes. Never before had she looked so beautiful and so happy. Flack grinned and paused his stride. _

"_What?" Angell turned around held out two gloved hands as she studied Flack's expression. _

"_Come here, Jess." He reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a tiny wrapped silver box tied with a shimmering red ribbon. _

"_Aw, Don!" She started to protest but he pressed the box into her hand._

"_Open it."_

_Not one to refuse gifts, she removed her gloves and began to unwrap the box. The paper unveiled a small beige box covered with a lid. _

"_That looks suspiciously like a jewelry box." She looked up at him and then removed the lid. She gasped. Inside lay a beautiful gold necklace. Angell lifted the jewelry up and admired the elegant gold heart adorned with a glittering diamond. It was simple, beautiful, and so her._

"_Don," was all that she could manage to say. The moonlight caught the diamond and reflected bursts of color onto the couple and the surrounding pure snow. _

"_Let me," Flack took the necklace from her hand and turned her around. Pushing away her hair and coat collar, he gently reached around her and fastened the necklace. _

"_It's perfect," his words formed hot breath onto her exposed neckline, and she shivered as his thumb brushed her skin. He turned Angell around and looked into her chocolate eyes. He placed a firm hand on her waist and drew her towards him as he lowered his head and met her lips with a soft kiss. He felt their electric connection immediately as the moment turned magical. After a few seconds, he pulled away leaving her breathless. _

"_You sure know how to impress a woman," she winked at him and pulled him down for one more kiss..._

Don soured as the memory vanished like evaporating mist and left him with his paper covered desk, a reminder of all of the work that had accrued over the holiday. He picked up a ballpoint pen and began to write. No ink came out. He resorted to drawing random scribbles on the page to coax out the ink, but nothing happened. He let out a frustrated huff and tossed the pen into the waste can with a resounding clang. He knew his mood would only get worse over the next few days. Angell had left that morning to visit one of her brothers in Vermont. He wouldn't see her for at least a week and was only left with the swift memories of their Christmas Eve and New Year's moments spent together. The door to the station opened. Flack didn't even glance up. An opening door could only mean more work for him and his officers. He continued to miserably write his case review.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look this annoyed," a silky voice cleared his thoughts and made his head spin.

"Jess." He looked up in surprise at the woman standing in front of him.

"One and the same."

"What happened to Vermont?"

"I imagine it's still there." She grinned flirtatiously.

Her playful banter caught him off guard. He stood up and pulled her into a quick embrace. "Seriously, why are you here?"

"My brother called this morning, and told me his wife and kids are sick with the flu. He thought it best that I stay away, so here I am!" She shrugged and pulled a vacant chair up to his desk.

Flack's eyes caught on the sparkling gold around her neck and followed the chain down to the pendant. It looked so good on her.

"I saw that," Angell said smugly, "and I don't think that you were _just_ admiring my jewelery."

"I don't see why I would admire anything else." He dodged her playful swat and laughed.

"You obviously have some paperwork to do, detective, so I think I'll leave you to it." Angell pushed back the chair and stood up.

"Jess, wait." Flack caught her hand and let his hold on it linger for a moment.

"What?" She raised her eyebrows at him and gave a curious smile.

Flack paused, looked at the mountain of paperwork on his desk, and silently cursed it. "Listen, I need to clear up some things here, but what do you say we meet for dinner? I've wanted to try out that new restaurant down the street. I hear its pretty good. Seven o'clock sound okay?"

Angell hesitated and made it seem like she was considering the offer. In reality she had already accepted. She just liked playing with his head because she knew it got to him. After a few moments of silence she opened her mouth and gave a sultry smile. "That sounds like an attractive offer."

"I just happen to be an attractive sort of guy." Flack grinned and said his farewell.

It was going to be an enjoyable day after all, if he could only concentrate enough to get his stupid work done.

-&-

**So...what did you think? I know that this chapter was just Flack and Angell (and a lot of fluff...), but I had to set up their characters and relationship for you. More characters (including Mac/Stella!) in the next chapter, I promise, and it will become more suspense-driven soon.**

**Leave me lots of reviews! Chapter 2 is already written, so I'll post it momentarily depending on how many reviews I receive (hahaha...what a bribe!!) I promise that I'm not usually this mean! :) Honestly, I just want to know what everyone thinks about my writing. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A few of you have asked me about the Jennifer vs. Jessica name for Angell. I am keeping the name Jessica, simply because I found it the most common online, and TPTB pretty much decided that in season 4. **

-Chapter 2-

The body lay in a careless twisted position on the plush beige carpet of the posh office. A dark red stain spread out on the carpet from the bullet hole in his back. The early morning light shone in through the high rise windows. The creak of a janitor pushing his cart echoed in the hallway as he tried to finish before the well-known executives and their employees darkened the doorways. The brass doorknob twisted then opened as the meek South American janitor opened the elegant oak door. The cart entered first and caught on something. The man pushed again and the cart didn't budge. He scooted around to the side and immediately started to pray in his native language as tears of terror rolled down his leathered cheeks. The cart had caught on the dead man's foot.

-&-

Stella walked into the lush office and past Danny, who was already dusting the door and doorknob for fingerprints. Unused plastic fingerprint sheets were lying around him in a semi-circle. Stella grinned, knowing that there was always a method for his madness.

"Hey, Stell."

"Hi Danny." She smiled at her colleague and walked over to Flack and Angell, who were questioning the janitor. "What do we have?"

Angell stepped forward to meet her. "Daniel Thomasin, 52. He's an executive partner of Thomasin & Windsor International. Found around 5:30 this morning by the janitor who was doing his cleaning rounds." She nodded to the subdued man next to Flack.

"Okay. Thanks," Stella replied and looked around the room at the crime scene. Not much was disturbed, indicating that there probably wasn't much of a struggle in this particular room. Her gaze found Mac and she smiled softly as they locked eyes. She walked over to join him as he examined the body.

"Single gunshot wound to the back. No signs of any struggle. Blood pattern indicates he was shot about six feet away, which would put the shooter by the door." He said without looking up, but then, why did he even bother? She could practically read his mind. He felt her welcome presence crowd his space as she crouched down next to him.

"He never saw it coming," Stella whispered and shook her head sadly.

-&-

Back at the lab Hawkes found himself examining trace evidence removed from Daniel Thomasin's body. A few hairs and some lint was pretty much all that he had to work with, and he was darn well going to make sure that it was enough. A lab tech entered his workspace and cleared his throat, pulling Hawkes out of his intense concentration.

"Your DNA results on the hair," was all the technician said and handed him a thin white sheet.

Hawkes looked down at the paper and grinned. "Bingo."

-&-

Mac paused in his paperwork and glanced up as his clear door opened. "Don't you ever knock?" He grinned at Stella, dark curls swaying, as she floated into the room.

"We're partners, and I feel that as part of that comes a lack of privacy, therefore eliminating my need to knock." She said smugly.

Mac rolled his eyes and gave in to her newest whim. "A lack of privacy?" he questioned.

"I got the results on the murder weapon we found," she offered.

"And?..."he asked hopefully.

"The gun was wiped clean. This guy is careful." She pursed her lips in frustration and stared out of his windows. The first snowflakes of the new year had begun their silent descent on the city.

Mac looked at her in confusion as she stared at the enchanting flakes. "So you came all the way across the lab and in here to tell me that we don't have a lead suspect?"

Stella looked at him blankly. "Your point?"

"You sure you didn't come here for anything else?" he gave her a curious look.

"Wait a minute," Stella held up her hands, "are you insinuating that I came in here just to see _you_?" she teased, amusement flashing through her green eyes.

"I've known you to do as much."

"Mac, my reasons for being here are strictly professional. Now back to the case..." she grinned and twirled a curl around her finger.

"Well we need something-" Mac started but was interrupted by a knock on the glass door. He gave Stella a look and raised his hand to motion Hawkes in.

"Sheldon?" Mac asked, hoping for some type of break in the case.

"I may have a suspect. I got the results back on a piece of hair pulled from the body. It's a match to Samuel Windsor."

Stella's eyes widened. "Samuel Windsor, as in Thomasin's partner?"

"Yep."

"Where is he now?" Mac asked, ready to name him an official suspect.

"Flack and Angell are picking him up at his apartment as we speak," Hawkes replied.

-&-

"Look. You _don't understand_. I have no reason to kill Daniel! We were business partners!" Samuel Windsor's high-pitched plea bounced off the walls of the interrogation room. He reached down and adjusted his expensive blue silk tie and custom made suit that was probably worth a year of Flack's so-called city salary.

"Really? Because I think having him as your partner would be reason enough. What kind of salary do you make, Mr. Windsor?"

Windsor paused and then shrugged, "It's not bad."

"Not _bad_?! You live in one of the largest penthouses on the Upper East Side! I could probably fit ten of my apartments into your living room!"

Windsor glared at him. "Your point?"

"My point, Mr. Windsor, is that with your partner out of the picture you automatically double your salary. I'm sure that you could do a lot with an extra 8 million a year. That seems like motive to me." Flack pressed both of his hands palm down onto the cold metal table and glared his suspect in the eye.

"Thomasin & Windsor International is a very well-known company. We serve very high-end clients." Windsor offered.

"Yeah? Like who?" Flack shot back.

"Mostly foreign diplomats and ambassadors who are staying in the United States for an extended period of time. It's a very secure place. We deal with threats against our clients every day, but nothing against myself or Daniel. Like I said before, I have no reason to kill him," he glared at the detectives.

"Mr. Windsor, we found your hair on Thomasin's body," Angell said coldly as she sat arms crossed in a hard chair across the table.

Windsor looked angrily at the petite powerhouse and nearly exploded in rage. "So? We're partners, and I'm in his office all the time. One hair can't prove anything! Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with several very important ambassadors who have just arrived. You can direct any more questions you may have to my lawyer," he replied with a voice of ice and stood up to leave.

Flack and Angell had no way to legally keep him there, so they stood by and watched him leave.

"Well, that went well, don't you think?" Flack growled , "I can't wait until the chief hears about this."

"If Windsor did it, we'll get him. You know that the lab will find something. Mac and Stella won't just let him get away." Angell put a hand on his shoulder and tried to soothe his tension.

-&-

**Okay...so not quite suspenseful enough yet. I'm working on it! I don't want to rush into it too quickly. **

**Let me know what you thought! I try to reply to every review that I receive. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I just wanted to give you a fair warning- this chapter contains some DRAMA, so prepare yourselves! :)**

-Chapter 3-

Adam gave a dreadful sigh as he looked at the small bit of evidence that the CSI team had managed to collect. "What am I supposed to do with you?" he questioned the tiny black bristle that he held between his silver tweezers. It had been found lying next to the body. Outside the snow had started to fall more heavily, and all he wanted to do was run out and build a snowman. Of course, he had no yard in which to build it. He grumbled to himself and turned back to the intriguing piece of evidence in his hands. He had to run a few composition tests on it, but it almost resembled...

-&-

"A vacuum bristle." Adam handed his report to Stella along with the tiny black piece of plastic in an evidence bag.

"A vacuum bristle? That doesn't make sense. The janitor hadn't even cleaned the room yet, and the vacuum was left out in the hallway." She furrowed her eyebrows in frustration and confusion.

"That's what I thought, so I ran a few more tests on some trace elements that you pulled from the scene and the murder weapon." Adam handed Stella another piece of pristine white paper that quite possibly held the key to finding their suspect.

Stella's eyes widened as she read. "Great job, Adam! I've got to get this over to Mac. We need to go back to that office." She patted him on the back and turned the other way towards Mac's office.

Adam grinned. "King of the lab!" he declared quietly to himself.

-&-

Angell played with her delicate necklace as she waited for Flack to finish up his paperwork. Their interrogation of Samuel Windsor had not gone well and had culminated in him leaving without criminal charges. The case was extremely frustrating, and both detectives could almost physically feel the heat bearing down on them from their superiors. Angell knew that if she was in a sour mood, Flack would be even worse. She could practically hear his silent grumbles as he filled in the blank spaces on the case file. His face was drawn and radiated of frustration. "Don?" she tried to catch his eye, but he refused to acknowledge her presence.

"Don?" she softly said again, trying to lull him out of his dark mood.

"What?!" he snapped angrily.

The tone of his voice forced Angell back into her chair. She opened her mouth, but no words found their way out.

"What is it?" he rudely asked again and stared at her impatiently.

Angell looked at him in shock. He had never acted this way towards her before, and she didn't like it one bit. She felt her own blood begin to boil and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "What is _wrong_ with you?" her voice took on an offended edge.

Flack cursed. "I'm fine!" he said through clenched teeth.

Angell glared at him. "No, you're not." She reached out her hand and placed it on Flack's shoulder as she looked into his blue eyes. "I know this case is difficult. We have no leads, and we let our only suspect walk out on us, but we'll find whoever did this," she offered trying to sound sincere.

Flack grabbed her hand and roughly brushed it off of his shoulder as if it were an unwanted piece of dirt. "I don't need your sympathy, Angell. I need to catch this guy."

Hurt flashed through Angell's eyes as she stood up and resisted the overwhelming urge to tear off the necklace dangling around her neck and throw it back at him.

"You want to handle this on your own? Fine!" She turned around began to walk away.

"Jess, wait." Flack's strong voice cut into her mixture of hurt and rage. She whirled around.

"What?" she said with a tone that rivaled his earlier comments as she silently hoped that he would ask her to stay.

He picked up a folder containing the case file. "You didn't fill out your interrogation review," he said coldly.

Angell swallowed back a wave of indignation and hurt and grabbed the file out of his hand as a single tear formed a path down her flawless cheek. She turned back around and stormed away.

Flack immediately knew that he had made a mistake as he watched a lone tear fall down Angell's face.

"Jess...JESS!" his words were answered with the soft _whoosh_ of the revolving NYPD door as she disappeared out into the falling snow. He sat back down and put his head in his hands. He was too late.

-&-

Stella once again pushed open the door to Mac's office without giving a second thought about knocking. He didn't bother to look up this time, already knowing who it was.

"I hope you have something," he said, typing on his keyboard with his eyes fixed on the computer screen.

"I do." Stella handed over Adam's reports and studied Mac as he read them. His grey eyes moved back and forth over the text as Stella watched, intrigued. Waiting for him to finish felt like an eternity, and after losing her patience, she finally opened her mouth. "The traces of cleaning product on the gun indicates-"

"That our killer is most likely a janitor." Mac finished her sentence. "We need to get back to that building."

"Let's go."

-&-

Thirty minutes later, Angell walked into the crime lab building still stunned at what had just occurred. She was angry at Flack for treating her the way he had, but she was even angrier at herself for acting the exact same way back. It had taken barely two minutes for their relationship to change completely. She should have given him some slack. The morning had been tough on both of them, and she should have known that tempers would flare. She looked down at her dark coat and brushed a few melting flakes off onto the floor, watching as they made their wet marks on the tile. Looking up, she saw Stella, Danny, and Mac exit the elevator and head towards the closest door.

"Hey! Where are you guys going?" she called out, needing some type of break from her present state of mind. She began to jog to catch up to them.

The three turned around nearly in perfect unison as Mac said, "Back to the crime scene. We need to take a second look and see if we can gather any evidence that we missed. We may have a lead on our killer."

"Who?" Angell asked.

"Adam found traces of cleaning products on the murder weapon. Our killer could be a janitor."

Angell's shoulders sank a little as she thought about her fight with Flack over Samuel Windsor. It was meaningless now. Windsor wasn't a primary suspect. "I'm going." She looked at Mac.

"Don't you need to call Flack?" Mac questioned.

Angell watched as Mac placed his hand on Stella's back and gently led her towards the door. "No. He's too busy to even notice I'm gone," she replied sourly.

The group of four walked out into the falling snow.

-&-

Twenty six blocks away at the unique high-rise building that housed Thomasin & Windsor International, a tiny green light blinked its warning in a steady pattern on the sleek black box that was powerful enough to unleash blinding pain and terror on the entire building. Colored wires looped around the casing in an intricate pattern of reds, yellows, and blues. The box sat quietly on the underside of the old, scratched wooden desk hidden a floor above the crime scene.

The glowing green light flashed on...

then off...

then on...

then off...

The pattern would continue infinitely until its signal was activated.

-&-

**Is that enough suspense for you? **


	4. Chapter 4

-Chapter 4-

Flack picked up the phone and then set it back down. He reached for the receiver again and paused as his fingers brushed its cool plastic shell. Pros and cons of the situation swirled around in his head and made him feel half-nauseous about the call that he knew he had to make. Fingers clenched, he picked up the phone again and pressed the sequence of numbers that he knew by heart.

-&-

Angell jumped as her phone let out a shrill ring and alerted her of a new caller. Reaching for her side, she grabbed the phone and looked at the caller ID. _Don Flack. _Her face twisted as she debated whether or not to press the answer key. This was going to be an intense conversation, and she was aware of three sets of eyes watching her. She had nowhere to go for privacy. The NYPD car was still on its way to the crime scene. Listening to the phone ring for the third time, she made her decision as she held onto the gold chain around her neck.

-&-

"Angell." The voice came across strong and clear as Flack listened.

"Hi. It's Flack." He tried to make his voice sound as soft and apologetic as possible, not an easy feat for him.

"I know. I have caller ID."

Flack winced at the harsh underlying tone in her voice. He continued. "Jess...I'm sorry."

There he had said it. Flack heard the sound of a vehicle's ignition shutting off and car doors slamming.

She didn't respond for a few seconds and the silence unnerved him. "Jess?"

Her voice was quiet. "Don...what you did back there really hurt. I was only trying to help, and you _completely_ shut me out."

This time it was Flack who didn't say anything. Quite frankly, he had nothing to say. Angell was dead on in her accusation, and he knew it. He sat at his desk and simply waited.

Angell continued. "I have to be honest, Don. I was _very_ angry at you when I left, and I had every right to be. But at the same time, I was even angrier at myself."

"Jess, you had every right to put me in my place, and you did it." Flack played with a pen at his desk as he talked. He couldn't bear to listen to the hurt in her voice. The hurt that _he_ had caused.

"I'm sorry."

Flack shrunk back as her apology echoed over the line. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. _I'm _the one who needs to apologize."

"Forgiven." Flack heard the hint of a smile in her voice and finally asked the question that had been gnawing away at him during their whole conversation. "Where are you?"

-&-

Angell continued to sit in the privacy of the car as the three CSIs unloaded their kits from the trunk and discussed the case outside of the vehicle. "I'm back at the crime scene. Mac thinks that the killer may have connections to the janitorial staff, so he, Stella, and Danny are going to take a second look around."

"Why do they need you?"

"I offered to come, and they could use my help. I'm most likely going to wait outside and make sure the scene is secure from my end."

"Outside?"

"I like the snow," Angell grinned and shrugged.

She heard Flack sigh. He started to say something and then hesitated.

"What?" she asked.

"My snow angel," he snickered.

"Don't you _dare_ call me that again! That was one of the worst ones yet, Don Flack!" she smiled as she heard his laughter over the phone.

"Go do your job. I'll see you in a little while," he told her.

"Coffee tonight?"

"Only if you let me buy."

She grinned. "Deal."

-&-

Mac led Stella and Danny back up the eleven flights of stairs to the offices of Thomasin & Windsor International. The business was running as usual with dignitaries and ambassadors coming and going through the offices. They flashed their NYPD badges to the security guards at the entrance to the business wing and were immediately given access. After a short walk down the expensive hallway they arrived at the crime scene. Nothing had changed. The bright police tape still cordoned off the area. Most employees of the wing simply ignored the room as if nothing had ever occurred. The CSIs ducked under the plastic boundary and stepped into the room with their processing kits in hand.

"Danny, you take that area. Stella, you go over there. I'll take that spot," Mac pointed to various areas across the plush office to be reviewed. The three went to their respective areas and began to take more traces of anything they could find. Their first sweep of the crime scene had been extremely thorough, so there wasn't much more that they could find.

"I've got something," Danny declared as he whipped out a swab to take a sample...

-&-

Twenty five minutes and six samples later, Angell, holding a cup of hot coffee and speckled with white powder, walked into the room. She inhaled the sweet aroma and felt its warmth begin to melt the remnants of the freezing temperature on her body. She looked over at Mac. "That storm is starting to pick up, so I thought I'd come in and join you. There's pretty much no reason for me to stand outside anyway since this place is full of security guards." She loosened her scarf and unbuttoned her coat as she welcomed the heat of the room.

"I was just about to call you in anyway. We need you to go upstairs and interview the janitorial staff. After processing this scene again, I'm fairly certain that that's who we're looking for." Mac stated.

"Sure. Their wing is up a floor, right?"

Mac nodded. "Take your radio and phone. This is taking a little longer than usual. We'll let you know when we're finished here."

-&-

Flack continued to work as he steadily churned out finished paperwork. After his reconciliation with Angell he had set the goal of having a clean desk by the end of the day. He grinned. She would appreciate the effort since she was always complaining about his lack of clear desk space. Half of the mountain of white sheets had already been filled out and filed and the second half looked a little less challenging. He was thankful for that. It had been a long day, and the only thing that he wanted to do was walk out of the revolving door with Jess and into the meandering snowflakes outside. He took a sip out of his "World's Greatest Detective" mug, and welcomed the hot liquid.

"Flack!"

Flack looked up and saw a rookie detective waving a phone in midair. He raised his eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Urgent call for you. It's the FBI!" the rookie called, excited.

Flack waited for the call to be transferred and picked it up on the first ring. The FBI never called unless it was urgent.

"Detective Flack," he answered in his serious, no-nonsense voice.

"Detective, this is Agent Luray with the FBI," a male voice answered with the exact same tone.

"What can I do for you?"

The agent continued. "You're the NYPD detective in charge of the Daniel Thomasin murder case, correct?"

Flack sat up, fully alert. "Yes."

"Do you know what Thomasin & Windsor International does?"

"They are consultants for foreign dignitaries and ambassadors visiting and living in the United States."

"Correct. And, I'm sure you know that that makes them very susceptible to terroristic threats, as well."

"Yes, of course. Agent Luray, why exactly are you calling me?" Flack questioned, a little suspicious.

"We've received a credible threat of a possible terrorist attack against the Thomasin & Windsor building, and I wanted to alert you since you are working a case there. I assume that everything has already been processed and your teams removed."

"How credible is this threat?" Flack felt his throat begin to tighten and checked his watch. He felt himself digging into his pocket for his cell phone as his current call continued.

"Very. Our teams are assembling now and will begin to search the building shortly."

Flack narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "When is this attack supposed to take place?"

The Agent took a breath and then answered. "Today."

-&-

**So...a minor cliffhanger for you. :) Leave some love/reviews! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to everyone who has put this on story alert and in their favorites. I greatly appreciate it! Happy reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

-Chapter 5-

Angell pushed open the door and winced at the painful creak that resonated from the rusty, painted-over hinges. It was obvious that the company didn't put any effort into the upkeep of _this_ area. She stepped inside and was taken aback at the lack of care that the wing received. It was a stark contrast to the lush, expensive scenery of the business wing.

"All about outside appearances," she muttered to herself. The door swung shut behind her with a resonating _bang_ as she looked left, then right down the long hallways. A few cleaning carts sat down the right end of the hall. She turned and began to walk towards them.

"Hello?" She called. Her voice echoed down the cold hall as it bounced off of the hard floor and bare white walls. "Hello?!"

A door creaked open as two suspicious looking men stepped out. They froze when they saw her.

Angell lifted her badge. "NYPD. Can I have a word with you?"

The men exchanged a look, turned the other way, and ran.

"Hey!" Angell yelled and took off after them.

-&-

"Stella, we've got to get out of here soon or it will be impossible to get back to the lab." Mac stood at the door and watched as his partner collected the last of the evidence bags and placed them in her processing kit. The snow silently pounded on the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office and reminded Mac of why he loved summer. No snow.

"I'm ready. Where's Danny?" Stella stood up and stretched. Being hunched over the floor looking for minuscule evidence was not exactly the best position to be in for an hour straight.

"He's already outside. I've just got to call Angell." Mac picked up his cell phone and started to dial. A frown spread across his face.

"What?" Stella came up beside him and put her hand on his sleeved bicep.

"I don't have service."

Stella pulled her phone out. "Me either," she replied, a little shocked. "The weather must have messed up our cell service. I wonder if Angell has a problem with hers. She's with different service company."

"I don't know," Mac shrugged.

"Try your radio."

Mac pulled the black device from his belt and radioed Angell. "Angell, we're through here and heading outside. Meet us at the car."

-&-

Angell heard Mac's voice sound through her radio's speakers and nearly cursed. She should have turned its volume down. The two men she had been following were long gone, and she was powerless to find them much less stop them.

"Angell, we're through here and heading outside. Meet us at the car," Mac said over the device.

"No, no!" Angell pulled the radio from her hip and pressed the "call" button to answer Mac.

"Mac! I'm in pursuit of two men who ran when I attempted to question them. I can't find them."

-&-

Mac heard his radio crackle to life as he received Angell's reply.

Stella raised her eyebrows at him."Mac, there are hundreds of people in this building who are all trying to leave to get home before this storm increases. There is no way that we can find those men in this mess."

Mac nodded in agreement. "The safety of this time is my primary concern, and if we stay any longer we may very well jeopardize that." He picked up his radio again. "Angell, we've got to get out of here before this storm gets any worse. I know you want to find these guys, but we don't even know if they're suspects, and I refuse to put this team in a dangerous situation that we can knowingly avoid."

"Give me ten minutes. I'll meet you outside." Her reply came.

-&-

Angell turned off her radio and continued her pursuit. The men had disappeared. They were simply..._gone_.Angell quietly moved down the hall and listened for any movements. She strained her ears but was only met with the soft thudding of snow against glass and blood pulsing through her eardrums. She jumped as she felt her phone give off a slight vibration at her side. Reaching down, she glanced at the caller ID. It was Flack. Without answering it, she placed the phone back in her pocket and continued down the corridor. She could call him back later.

-&-

Flack pushed the gas pedal harder as he tried to navigate through the crowded streets. He had hung up the phone exactly five minutes ago and immediately ran outside for the nearest NYPD car. Blinding snow rushed at the windshield and he pushed the windshield wipers on high. _Swish Swish Swish_. They swung back in forth in a hurried manner as snow was cleared and made room for more. Most traffic had cleared the streets when the storm had picked up and the only vehicles that remained were taxis trying to get their occupants out of the weather. He picked up his cell for the third time in two minutes and tried to reach Angell. The phone rang endlessly until he once again reached her voicemail.

Eleven more blocks to go...he picked up the phone again and listened to it start to ring. Flack prayed he would get there in time.

-&-

The door quietly opened as Angell slipped through. No one was in the silent stair corridor as she made her way up to the fifteenth floor. She had been following the faint sound of footsteps but couldn't be sure to whom they belonged. The building had cleared out rather quickly as businessmen and women hurried to their cars and waiting taxis to beat the winter storm home. Most of the floors were silent, save her original starting floor at Thomasin & Windsor. A vital meeting was occuring at the moment between diplomats of several important countries and Mr. Samuel Windsor. She snarled as a mental picture of Windsor appeared in her mind, but she quickly put a mental snapshot of Flack there instead. Her phone vibrated for the fourth time and she didn't even have to look to know who was calling. She let out a frustrated pout and grabbed the phone. If he had bothered to call this much it could be important.

"Angell," she stepped into a side room as she answered.

"Jess! Where are you? Why haven't you answered your phone?" he demanded.

"Whoa! Slow down, Don. I'm still at the Thomasin & Windsor building, and I haven't answered because I've-"

"Get out of there."

"What?" Angell heard her voice's pitch increase as she questioned.

"Jess, get out of that building." He sounded extremely serious.

"Why? I'm in the middle of a pursuit that you happened to interrupt with your phone incessant phone calls."

"I don't care! Just get _out_ of there, Jess!!" he nearly roared.

"Don, _what is going on_?!"

There's a-" his voice was cut off with the sound of crunching metal and breaking glass.

-&-


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about leaving you with that cliffhanger! I couldn't resist, although I do feel bad about some of the panicked reviews that I received. :) Well- here is the chapter that I promised would clear things up. ENJOY!!**

**Warning: Plot twist ahead! :)**

-Chapter 6-

Glass shattered into a million pieces as metal folded on metal. Razor-sharp shards sliced through the silent snowflakes as they landed and blended in on the ice-covered street. Glass. Ice. No one could tell the difference. The world spun around at a dizzying pace as the victim's eyes tried to follow the revolutions that held them. Buildings that were once a blur started to come into focus as the revolutions lost some of their force.

Slower...

Slower...

Slower...

...the vehicle stopped. A groan sliced through the silent winter air as Flack lifted his head out of the deployed airbag and looked around at the smashed interior.

-&-

"Flack?! FLACK!" Angell screeched into the phone. She could feel her face paling as overwhelming panic began to set in. Her training had taught her to stay calm and collected during these type of situations, but it had never prepared her for the horror of when someone you cared about was _in_ the situation. She shuddered. There had been a cacophony of terrorizing noises on his end of the phone, and then the call had quickly descended into silence. Angell didn't know what to do. Couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. She reached for her radio and tried to call Mac. A buzzing static filled the empty space, and she knew that no one had heard her.

-&

Mac and Stella pushed open the building's doors and walked out into the blinding snow. The wind howled as it tried to fit between fat skyscrapers. Somehow they had to find their way through the white to their car. Stella buried herself into Mac's side as he put a guiding arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"Mac! Stell! Over here!" Danny's raspy voice stood out among the falling flakes as the couple looked up to see him waving his hands covered in bright red gloves. He waved an ice scraper in the air like a crazed psychopath and caused Stella to let out a small giggle...until she saw how much ice had accumulated on their car that had yet to be removed.

"We're gonna be here a while," Danny said.

-&-

Flack let out a grunt of frustration as he forced the car door open. Stumbling out, he saw a few shocked passersby staring at him and debating whether or not to come to his aid. He would make that decision for them.

"I'm fine," he called out and raised a trembling hand. Standing back, he saw the damage caused by the impact. The vehicle had hit a patch of black ice that had sent him careening into a building on the side of the street. That no one had been hurt was nothing short of a miracle. The accident had happened extremely quickly and Flack had had no time to prepare himself. He shook his head and swallowed back a wave of nausea that welled up at the movement. _Angell_! Flack's mind became crystal clear as he remembered where and to whom he had been heading. He glanced up at the street signs surrounding him on the corner and realized that he was mere blocks away from the building. In fact...he could see it rising up among the scattering snow.

"Screw this!" he said absentmindedly to the NYPD car that now lay in pieces in the street. He turned the other way and ran into the snow as his feet carried him as fast as they possibly could. He _would_ get there on time. He didn't have a choice.

-&-

Angell punched in Flack's cell number again with her free hand. The other clutched the gold chain dangling around her neck. She held it as tight as possible but didn't dare pull for fear that it too would break and somehow completely cut off her final ties with Flack. She didn't know where he was, only that she was calling and he wasn't answering. The ringing tone began again, and she listened, hoped, and prayed that maybe the call would be answered.

"You've reached Detective Flack, NYPD. Leave a message." Flack's voice mail picked up as the ringing ceased.

"Come on!" Angell yelled through her tears.

-&-

One more block...

Flack knew he could make it. Wildly shoving aside the torrential snow, the rounded the corner and searched for his CSIs...for Angell. Eyes crazily scanned the parking lot until...there. Three figures huddled around an NYPD car. Three? Flack continued to run as fast as he could. The life of that fourth person depended on him.

-&-

"Mac! Hey! MAC!!"

Danny, Stella, and Mac turned an about face and stared in pure surprise as Flack raced towards them through the snow. A gash decorated his left temple, and a trickle of blood slowly oozed from it. His hands and face were covered with small scratches. The purple tinge of developing bruises stood out on his pale face, which registered a mix of shock and determination.

"Flack! What the hell happened to you?" Stella cried.

"Where's Angell?" he demanded.

The silence was overwhelming. Flack watched Mac and Stella share a questioning look.

"_Where is Angell?!"_ Flack yelled at them. He was beyond desperation.

"She's inside. She said that she was following up on a lead and would meet us out here. Why do you-" Mac stopped speaking as Flack started to race towards the door.

"FLACK!"

"Get out of here, Mac! There's a bomb in that building!" Flack yelled, finger pointed upwards, as he ran.

"Flack! Wait!" Mac roared.

Stella let out a gasp, and Danny's windshield scraper clattered to the icy ground below.

"Boom," the word came out of Danny's mouth before he could stop it and he grimaced as Stella looked at him incredulously.

They both stared helplessly at the doomed building, wondering when it would take its last breath.

Mac was already on his radio calling for backup.

-&-

"JESS!" Flack pushed the sixth floor stairwell's door open and took the stairs two at a time. He glanced in the windows of each floor only to see a dark corridor and one or two remaining employees, but no Angell. He continued up.

Seventh floor.

Eighth floor.

Ninth floor.

A noise caught his attention.

-&-

Angell didn't know where to go. The long hallway had seemingly closed in on her. She knew that the men were long gone, but yet couldn't find the willpower to leave. Her feet remained on the spot where she had last spoken to Flack nearly fifteen minutes ago. The gold pendant of her necklace had left an imprint in her palm and she stroked it mindlessly, numbed and waiting. Just waiting.

"Jess!" A faint voice cried from far away. She shook her head back and forth trying to push the imagined voice away and focus on the present. It wouldn't leave.

"Jess!" It sounded...closer. Angell looked down the hall at the stairwell's door and gasped.

"Flack!" she started to run as the navy blue door was pushed open.

-&-

Flack had never been so happy to see her in his life. She looked exhausted, scared, angry, and..._alive_. He picked up his speed to meet her halfway.

-&-

Angell's shock stopped her mid-run. She threw her arms out for balance as her upper body kept moving. Her eyes couldn't leave the gash on Flack's forehead. Pieces of her frantic puzzle finally fit together. She wanted to hug him and punch him at the same time. "Son of a..." she started as her eyes took in the extent of Flack's injuries.

"What did you DO?!" she yelled in anger and relief.

"The car slipped on a patch of ice and hit a building."

She cursed. "Do you know how much you scared me?! I thought you were _dead_!!" she stammered. Her emotions still battled between her but she felt anger giving way to relief and allowed Flack to pull her into his arms.

"We need to get out of here now," Flack urgently whispered into her ear as he broke the embrace and took Angell by the hand.

"No. Wait!" Angell pulled her hand away and stopped in the hallway. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on!" She crossed her arms over her midsection in defiance.

Flack had no choice but to stop and provide an explanation. He was not going to just leave her here. He took a deep breath. "There's a...bomb in this building."

Angell gasped and widened her chocolate eyes. "Where?"

Flack shook his head, "I don't know. Federal bomb squads are on their way. Now...we _need_ to get out of here!" He took her hand again and the couple ran down the deserted hallway, each pounding foot bringing them desperately closer to the entrance.

-&-

**That wasn't so bad, was it? :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Here it is!!! So sorry to have kept you all waiting that long. I am really sorry that it is so short, but I didn't have much time to write. :(  
**

-Chapter 7-

The pounding footsteps seemed three times as loud as they bounced off of the empty, unfriendly walls and linoleum tiled floor. Flack eyes shifted right to left...right to left as he glanced in office windows to make sure that the building was in fact evacuating. The fire alarm sent out shrill alerts that pierced his eardrums and made his head pound with fury. He could feel the onset of nausea and wondered if he had given himself a concussion in his accident. A strong squeeze of the hand in his brought him back to the present and the fact that he and his partner were running for their lives. He continued on, despite his increasing pain, for her.

-&-

Angell could feel the blood pulsing in her ears and hear its quiet roar as she focused on taking step after step. Her heart was pounding and she wondered if Flack could feel it through her hand, which he held so tightly. The delicate chain around her neck swung to and fro as the pendant wildly moved across her chest. She swallowed hard as they began to descend the fifth floor steps. Glancing over at Flack, she noticed sweat droplets breaking out on his pale face as he blinked hard.

"Don?"

"I'm fine," he grunted back.

He looked as if he needed to stop, but that was not an option. They didn't know when the building would become victim to the quiet raging danger lurking somewhere within it. She continued on, despite her increasing fear, for him.

-&-

Flack could feel his pounding head beginning to take over. The blood had left a longer trail down his cheek and he noticed his surroundings start to spin slightly. His feet suddenly felt as if they weighed twice his body weight and he tried not to stumble as he ran. He grasped Angell's hand and held tighter. She was his anchor. They kept running.

Fourth floor. They could do this. They could escape the building before the bomb detonated. Only four more floors....eight flights of stairs. Approximately five minutes. Numbers ran through his head as he continued with each step...

...by step

by step...

The halfway point between the fourth floor and the third floor.

Closer and closer.

Flack squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to keep going. Pain was exploding inside his head and escaping through the laceration across his face. He kept his firm grasp on the hand inside of his. As his foot hit the next step and he felt his body internally collapse as he fell, powerless to stop the oncoming floor. Flack landed in an awkward position on the stairwell, but his breath nearly ceased when he heard the _thud _of Angell landing next to him and a sharp gasp of pain as her head hit the edge of a step.

-&-

Stella anxiously glanced at her watch for the seventeenth time in as many minutes and wondered what was taking Flack and Angell so long. They should have been out of that building ten minutes ago. The soft snowflakes had begun to mix with ice and she felt the sharp sting of winter's wrath hit her face and exposed skin. A muted _scraaape_ followed by an outburst of expletives sounded behind her as Danny attacked the windshield with the plastic ice scraper. Only half of it was clear...enough to drive with as soon as the two cops ran from the doomed building.

Another scrape.

Another sting.

Another shiver.

She looked down at her watch again and made a decision....

Looking around, Stella saw Mac across the parking lot speaking with the arriving federal agents. Five minutes...that was all it would take to get her friends out of that building. She spun around and headed towards the looming skyscraper.

-&-

**Hopefully it was a little bit worth it....  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm so happy that I can continue this now!!**

**If you didn't read ch. 7, which I posted on Oct. 29, please read that first (obviously!). For some reason it didn't send out a "new chapter" notice. **

-Chapter 8-

The large door shut with a resounding _slam_ as Stella entered the first floor. She looked around at the empty overdecorated lobby with suspicion. Could the bomb be there? Would it detonate? Soon? Would she find Flack and Angell. Would they be able to get out in time? The frantic thoughts racing through her head were met with the eerie quiet air.

"Flack? Angell?" She called. No response. Looking around, Stella shouted again. Straining her ears for

a response, she started up the first flight of stairs.

-&-

Flack rolled over and pulled himself up to sit on one of the steps. A wave of nausea hit and he quickly swallowed it back down as he heard a soft groan and the slight shuffle of moving winter apparel from the still figure beside him. He visibly winced as the realization that he had pulled Angell down with him hit.

-&-

Angell slowly pushed herself up to sit beside Flack. She placed her hand on the throbbing spot at the back of her head. She heard Flack clear his throat and glanced over at him.

"I'm fine," she stated flatly before he could even voice the multiple concerns that she knew were swirling around inside of his head.

"I knew better than to ask." Flack slowly stood and Angell saw the a quick flash of pain in his eyes as he extended his hand to her. "Come on. We've got to go."

Angell nodded in silent agreement and held out her hand. They would get out of here. They had to.

-&-

"DANNY!" Mac's voice elevated above all the others around the parking lot and even managed to overpower the furious scraping noise of the remaining ice on the car being picked away. Danny turned around and saw Mac, walking as fast as he could over the ice, racing towards him. Mac's face was red, but whether it was from the cold or anger, Danny could not tell.

"Mac." Danny simply responded, "what's wrong?"

"Where's Stella?"

"What?" Danny voice radiated with confusion.

"Where.....is......Stella?" Mac spat through clenched teeth.

"I don't know. She was just here a minute ago." Danny shrugged and held up the ice scraper, "I thought she was with you."

"I can't afford to have my team members disappearing on me. Do you have _any_ idea where she went?"

"Last I saw she was walking..." Danny paused as the horrific realization cruelly hit him in the face much like the cold, sharp wind of winter.

"Where?!" Mac yelled.

"Over there." Danny pointed to the doomed skyscraper sitting silently among the falling snow.

"She's going to get herself _killed_!" Mac swore and turned towards the gray building as mixed emotions of anger and worry coursed through his body.

-&-

Stella slowly continued her ascent up the stairwell. She paused to look in every doorway, every window. Her colleagues, no, her _friends_, were somewhere inside of this building and every second that ticked by pushed them closer to the harsh reality that was waiting.

"Stella!"

She jumped as the radio at her side yelled her name. She reached for it as it shouted again. "Stella!"

"What Mac?!" She shouted back.

"What are you _thinking_?! You-" He sounded livid, and Stella quickly cut him off.

"Flack and Angell have been in here for too long. I didn't really have a choice. I can't just leave them here! What if something happened?"

"Stella. Get out of there. If that bomb goes off with you in there, I swear, I...I-"

"What, Mac? You what?" Stella pressed as she continued to climb the seemingly endless stairs.

Silence.

"Mac, look, I know that you're worried and angry that I'm in here, but I'm not leaving this building until I find them."

"Then find them and get out of there as fast as you can," he answered.

-&-

Angell heard the voice before Flack. It was faint at first, almost like the outer wisps of an echo. It increased in volume, and she swore that she heard her name. No time to stop, though. They were quickly reaching the bottom of the third floor.

"Flack.....Angell."

There.

It was below them. They kept moving, quickening their pace. The voice called again and this time there was no question as to the owner of the crystal clear voice. Stella.

They ran faster, turned the corner, and heaved a sigh of relief as they met the curly-haired detective on the second floor.

"What are you doing?" Angell questioned, completely in awe that Stella had come back into the building.

"I was worried. You were taking too long, and I needed to make sure that you were okay."

"Did Mac know?"

Stella shifted her eyes as she ran and shook her head. "No," she said quietly.

"You're going to be in sorry shape when he's done with you." Flack stated and raised his eyebrows at Stella.

"Don't I know it," she grumbled as they turned around and quickly headed for the first floor.

-&-

Mac, helpless and unable to enter the building, stared across the parking lot as he silently cursed himself for not keeping a closer watch over his team. He didn't know what he was more furious about- that Stella had gone inside instead of him or that he had left her no choice but to risk her life for her friends. He had been busy. Preoccupied Not with his team like a proper boss should be. Any way he put it couldn't manage to cover up the nasty reality that he had been gone. Simply....gone. And the consequences could be enormous.

-&-


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I want to give a huge **"Thank You!"** to lilymoonlight for her wonderful plot suggestions! They were very helpful. :)

Prepare yourselves- this is a much longer chapter with some much anticipated action. Enjoy. :)

-Chapter 9-

_00:02:33....00:02:32....00:02:31_

The green light continued its cycle of flashes. It wasn't like anyone was actually counting them. Only the box itself. Its once infinite cycle of green on, green off to shut down as soon as it was commanded. The timer had been set, the painful show terrifyingly close to commencement. It was only a matter of time, seconds really.

_00:02:22_

-&-

Mac held his breath as the seconds slowly ticked by. Time couldn't pass fast enough. He refused to move his eyes from the expansive,ornate glass doors of the lobby entrance. He squinted through the blinding snow squalls, watching, waiting. Any moment now....

He willed the time to pass faster. The annoying _tick_ of his watch loudly proclaimed the passing of each devastatingly slow second. His ears seemed deaf to everything else. Tick. Tick. Tick.

One second....

He waited.

Two seconds...

A sigh of completion from Danny and the ice scraper.

Three seconds...

A breath-catching gust of ice cold winter air caught him in the chest, causing him to gasp and stagger backwards.

Four seconds...

He couldn't do this anymore. He would NOT play this waiting game. His team members were inside, and he had no idea how much time remained between them passing through that door and the potential detonation of the bomb. He cursed inwardly at himself for even putting them in that situation. It had been his fault, so he had to fix it. He didn't have a choice, and God help him, he was about to become as impulsive as Stella.

"Danny, stay here. I'll be right back."

Mac hoped that he was right.

_00:02:10_

-&-

Flack, Angell, and Stella were close. So, so close. They reached the last flight of stairs and began their final descent. The reverberating high-pitched tones of the fire alarm had seemed to dull ages ago, and the only noise that stood out was the pounding of three pairs of feet dashing down the seemingly endless incline. 25 more steps. That was all that stood between the three and the door to the lobby. 25. A relatively small number compared to what Flack and Angell had just accomplished. Angell felt Flack's hand in hers and gave it a quick squeeze. Her other hand was gently wrapped around the gold chain hanging around her neck. They would get out of here.

_00:01:52_

-&-

Stella couldn't wait to breathe in the fresh winter air and feel its raw sting on her exposed face. Never again would she curse New York winters. From now on she would welcome the blustery gusts that blew her curls askew and caused her to take unnecessary time to smooth out the resulting tangles. And the snow? She could hardly wait to see it fall down in the mass sheets and blanket the city in white. Sure, it ruined crime scenes, but she would rather face the extra frustration of additional work than never face anything again.

_00:01:41_

She thought of Mac and how he would figuratively eat her alive once she made it out of the building. Her impulsiveness had laid the foundation for a huge confrontation between her and her partner. Did she regret her decision? No, not in a million lifetimes. She would rather face endless arguments with Mac than live with the knowledge that she could have done something to get her friends out of danger sooner and hadn't. No, Stella preferred to live without regret.

-&-

_00:01:29_

Mac pushed open the lobby doors and felt the frigid air warm his ice cold extremities. The last few minutes had threatened to damage his calm and collected demeanor, and he was certain that if he didn't find his team soon, he would shatter under the immense stress. The screaming fire alarm ceased suddenly, and the roar of deafening quiet filled his ears. Not a sound was made as he softly stepped across the expansive lobby.

_00:01:13_

"Flack? Angell? Stella?" He called and received no reply. He called again.

The muted sound of....something began to reach his inner ear. He cocked his head trying to find the location, the source. The sounds got louder and louder....until _crash! _Mac jumped as the door across the way flew open. Angell rushed out, followed by Stella and then Flack.

"Mac!" Angell stated, causing Stella to look up. She froze when she saw the anger on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Confusion gave way to realization as it flashed in her green eyes.

"I could ask _you_ the same thing," he coolly responded as he began to walk towards her.

_00:01:00_

-&-

Flack didn't look so well. Heck...he didn't feel so well, either. The pain that he had pushed away earlier was catching up to him. His head pounded, his cut stung, and he just wanted to get out into the fresh air. He saw Angell across the lobby, close to the stairwell doors. She was bent over slightly, obviously catching her breath. It had been a killer run down the steps, even for a cop. He lifted his hand and motioned for her to join him.

_00:00:43_

-&-

Angell saw Flack raise his hand and wave her over. He stood in the center of the giant lobby, holding his head and watching the altercation between Mac and Stella begin a little distance away. She nodded slightly at him and lifted a finger.

"Just a second," she mouthed and hunched over to adjust her shoe. When would she learn to wear the _proper_ NYPD attire and not what she considered the latest fashion? She grinned inwardly at herself, straightened up and began to close the distance between herself and her guy.

_00:00:31_

-&-

"...Look, Mac. I understand what you're saying, but, _look at me_!" Stella motioned towards her fully-intact body, "I'm FINE. Absolutely FINE!" she spat out.

"No, I don't think you do understand what I'm saying. You foolishly put your own life into danger, but God help me, Stella, I am _not_ going to get into an argument with you right now. " Mac reached out to protectively grab Stella's arm and lead her out of the building. "We can finish this outside."

Stella pulled her arm out of Mac's grasp as she felt her face flush with fury. "I can handle myself," she hissed and headed for the door.

_00:00:20_

-&-

Angell felt her tension begin to ease as Flack pulled her in his arms. Standing in the center of the ground floor, she could have stayed wrapped in his embrace for an eternity....except the unknown threat of the explosion still loomed above their heads.

_00:00:15_

"Don, we need to leave," she murmured against his chest.

"Yeah," came Flack's soft reply. He let her go and watched as she ran her hand back through her dark hair. It fell down in waves, and if the circumstances had been different, Flack would not have been able to resist reaching out and touching them. Instead, he reached for her hand.

_00:00:08_

-&-

Mac watched Stella walk away from him, stunned at her nasty response.

"Stella!" he called out as he began to chase after her.

_00:00:06_

"Stella, wait!"

"Stella!" He had almost caught up with her. One more giant stride....

_00:00:04_

-&-

Angell felt safe, protected by Don's side. She nestled in closer to him as they walked towards the door and the silently descending snow.

-&-

"I was only-"

Stella began to reach for the lobby entrance doors.

_00:00:03_

-&-

Flack sensed an unspoken change in the environment. Without thinking, he quickened his pace, pulling Angell along with him. The door was at least 35 feet away.

"What is it?" Angell glanced over at him.

"Something is-"

_00:00:02_

-&-

Mac caught up with Stella, reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder as she opened the door and let in a surge of winter.

"-trying to..."

_00:00:01_

Their responses would never be heard.

_00:00:00_

A blinding flash illuminated around them followed by a deafening crack. White-hot metal twisted, surrendering to a more powerful force. Glass rained. A shout of "run!" was muted by the roar of toppling cinder block.

-&-

Mac shoved Stella out of the building with all of his strength as he followed behind, listening to the horrifying creak of metal beams breaking, leaning.....failing.

-&-

A scream ripped from the back of Angell's throat as Flack forced her to the ground, throwing himself protectively on top of her. Glass fell and shattered around them. Shards of it landed on Flack's back and Angell's exposed arms. Heavy ceiling tiles began to rain down around them and Don shouted in agony as one caught him in the back of the head. Pain exploded inside of him as he willed himself not to lose consciousness. Color turned to gray...turned to black and white as he slowly surrendered and gave in the oncoming darkness.

-&-

Stella was powerless to stop the oncoming pavement as she felt Mac's forceful push act upon her. She couldn't get her arms out fast enough to break the fall and her body made sickening contact with the hard ground. Her head rang, and she struggled for air as she felt her breath forced out of her body.

-&-

Angell felt Flack's body go limp and knew he had lost consciousness. Debris continued to fall around her in horrifyingly slow motion. A large piece of cement landed next to her, and she whimpered as she felt Flack's body forced out of the way, rolling to the side. More pieces of cement fell. The last thing Angell heard was a loud _crack_ as the beam above her gave out under the pressure of piling debris and let it fall onto her....

Her world turned to black and she fell into the oblivion of unconsciousness.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the wait...again. Life has just been too insanely busy lately! **

-Chapter 10-

Smoke furled and dust clouded as an uneasy quiet settled over the parking lot. The snow that had blanketed the black pavement in white was now completely gone, blown away by the heat and power of falling pieces of the building.

Danny slowly opened his eyes and peered out around the snow and dust blanketed car at the wreckage remaining. The distant sound of sirens began to come closer, and he squinted as he spied two human-looking forms lying just outside the wreckage.

-&-

Mac cautiously lifted his head as the silence took over. Scattered debris lay in a random pattern around him, and he carefully pushed himself up on all-fours and looked for Stella. She was lying face down about six feet away from him- and obviously struggling to catch her breath. Mac crawled over and pushed her onto her back.

"Stella."

She wheezed but could not take much oxygen in. Panic. No air. Terror. Can't breathe.

"Stella!"

Her green eyes looked up at Mac wildly as she struggled to gain enough air. She tried to push herself up into a sitting position, but strong arms pushed her back down to the ground and held her in place. She tried to fight back, but was losing strength. She managed a quick gulp of air and started to push back up. Again, the strength of her partner's arms forced her down.

"_Stella!_ Calm down! If you stop fighting you'll be able to breathe more easily," Mac insisted. He held her as her fight subsided and breaths began to come more easily.

Stella looked up into Mac's eyes as he released her arms. Gaining much needed oxygen, she pushed herself up once again, took hold of Mac's hand, and voiced the overwhelming concern that was terrorizing them both.

"Where are Flack and Angell?"

-&-

Among the scatter of snapped metal and crumbled cement, a small object held tightly in the palm of a hand glittered in the leaking light. The dainty strand was twisted and tangled, but a tiny heart-shaped pendant was clearly visible. The slender hand clutching it was pale and still, unknowing of the life that was stirring and coming back to consciousness mere feet away.

A painful groan hit the debris around the hand and was absorbed. Then....a questioning, desperate whisper filled with agony.

"Angell?"

-&-

Mac and Stella stood and stared in horror at the remnants of the once majestic skyscraper. Its regal presence had been depleted to a lop-sided shanty, covered in dirt and purifying snow at the same time. One side of the building had collapsed upon itself, but the over remained intact for the most part, a hopeful sign for the rescue workers arriving on scene.

"Are they going to be okay?" Stella reached for Mac's hand.

"I hope so...and we are going to do all that we can to make sure of it," came the steel response.

-&-

Black swirls unfurled and interlocked with the gray atmosphere as pain and the sound of agonizing silence hit the senses and exploded inside the brain. It was cold. A freezing breeze moved throughout the unsifted, unexplored.......unknown debris and sent shivers down the spine. Long eyelashes began to flutter as reality set back in.

Angell opened her eyes.

The dull gray fog surrounding her senses slowly began to dissipate and enabled her to think a little more clearly.

Vision. Angell looked around at the fallen beams and blocks, all shades of cold gray.

Smell. The acrid odor of burnt materials hung in the air and wafted into Angell's nose as it irritated the sensitive inner skin.

Taste. She gagged as the leftover fumes of smoke and burning found their way into her mouth and onto her tastebuds.

Touch. It was delicate. She moved her fingers around the golden strand in her clenched wrist and realized what they contained.

Hearing. Nothing...just the silence of a shocked city and falling snow. A rustle. A...groan? Angell struggled to turn her head as she ignored the pain and nausea. Tears nearly welled up in her eyes as she took in the stirring form of Don Flack.

"Don."

It was only the faintest of whispers as Angell fought to regain her voice.

"Don." A little louder, barely above the first soft whisper. Angell coughed and whimpered at the pain that radiated through her midsection. She had at least one broken rib for sure. She placed a free hand on top of her abdomen in an attempt to hold in the pain. Strength began to seep into her as she took a huge breath, winced, and attempted to cry out.

"Don!"

And at last, a response.

-&-

Don Flack had never been more moved to weep and celebrate at the same time. Angell was alive. They had both survived. He twisted his body in an attempt to face her. One try....two. On the third attempt he managed to turn enough to see her face.

"Oh, Jess." Flack felt the blood rush out of his face as he took in her injuries. Her legs were beyond scratched. A tear in her pants revealed a long slice on her left thigh. She held her hand tightly over her midsection and gasped every time she took a breath. Afraid of what he might observe, Flack didn't want to look up to see Angell's face. He forced his eyes up and nearly choked. A long gash decorated her temple and dripped blood, whose deep burgundy was a vast contrast to the pale pallor of her skin. But what Flack was most unprepared for was the seemingly permanent contortion of pain etched on her face. It twisted her mouth and disguised the usual sparkle in her eyes with a dull mask. Flack felt himself take a much needed breath as he stared at her.

"Oh, Jess. I'm so sorry," he whispered and choked back tears.

-&-

Angell watched Flack take in her injuries and could only imagine the thousands of thoughts rushing through his brain. Panic. Guilt. Worry. Desperation. They all flashed across his face as he uttered a grief-ridden apology.

"I'm so sorry," he said.

Angell ignored the shooting pain inside of her and stared right back at him.

"It's not your fault, Don. Quit blaming yourself."

She watched Flack take in a quick breath. A question raced through her mind, but she was too afraid to voice it.

"What is it?" He knew her too well. Angell looked away and tried to pretend as if she hadn't heard his question, but Flack kept pushing. "Angell, tell me."

She tried to mask the fear in her eyes as she blinked and looked back at him.

"Now what?"

-&-

Mac, Danny, and Stella stood at the edge of the destroyed landmark and felt the enormity of the situation placed before them. Their colleagues, their _friends_ were inside somewhere. And they would find them. They weren't leaving until they did.

Mac took the first step inside.

-&-

**Let me know what you think...and any plot suggestions would be extremely helpful, too!!! They usually give me a much-needed push to write faster. :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey all! I'm so sorry for the (once again) really long wait. I hope this chapter makes up for it. :)**

-Chapter 11-

The raw air permeated the gaping holes and tiny pin pricks of opening in the torn building. Angell felt the onset of a shiver and held her breath to conceal the pain caused by the involuntary shaking of her broken body. A lone tear ran down her face and left a clean trail amidst the caked-on dust and grime of the building's past.

"Stop it," she hissed at herself. For heavens sakes, she was a _cop_. She shouldn't be acting this way no matter how much it hurt. She was tough. The youngest of four brothers, the daughter of a detective sergeant who didn't raise wimps for children. She was strong, invincible, stubborn....and in so much pain.

"Just stop it!"

-&-

Flack only had to glance at Angell to know what would happen if help did not arrive soon. He was horrifingly well aware of what came next. Her blood would continue to escape through the multiple cuts and lacerations, her skin would pale even more, and the onset of light-headedness would follow. Soon she would be slipping in and out of consciousness, and, unless he could free himself, he would be powerless to help. Flack cursed silently and began to think of a way to reach her. A large block of cement had found its resting point on his upper legs and pinned him onto the rubble. He was able to bend his knees and brace his feet to gain leverage, but the strength of the cement boulder won against the impressive strength of his arms as he pushed against it.

"Jess?" he threw her name out across the space.

Nothing.

"Jess!"

"Yeah?...." a soft reply came.

"Can you move at all?"

A shuffle.

A grunt.

A curse.

A cry of pain mixed with defeat.

"I-I can't. It's my right leg."

A plethora of terrifying possibilities bombarded Flack and he pushed them aside, not even wanting to think about thinking about them.

"What's wrong?"

Another pained, forceful sound from Angell. "There's a beam. It's too heavy, and I can't push it off."

"Try." It was a simple remark, but held so much expectation behind it.

"Don, I can't just kick it off! Believe me, I've already tried that!" she snapped as her voice broke. It was a heartbreaking sound, and Don flinched.

"Alright," he said softly. "Let's try something else."

-&-

Dust stirred up and found a new settling point as three pairs of feet cautiously climbed over metal, cement, and office furniture blown to pieces by the horrendous act. Mac led, followed by Stella, with Danny bringing up the rear of the group. They moved slowly and ever so carefully. A rock would dislodge and be enough to send a wave of panic, increase heartbeats, cause short gasps, and freeze them in their positions. Relieved sighs would usually follow with Mac turning around to make sure Stella and Danny were both okay. Few words were spoken, and even fewer were needed as they continued their climb.

"Flack! Angell!" They repeated over and over and then paused to listen. Nothing.

"Judging from where the front door used to be, Flack and Angell would most likely be over there." Mac pointed ahead at a jungle of demolished skyscraper.

Danny's eyes widened. "Mac, if they're in there, there's no way that....."

"Don't say it." Stella cut him off abruptly as determination flashed across her face. She shook her head and caused limp ringlets to follow.

The three continued on into the metal jungle.

"Flack! Angell!"

Pause.

"Flack! Angell!"

Pause.

The building shuddered and debris shifted ever so slightly.

"Mac, we should have waited for proper search and rescue teams to take us in." Stella softly said, frozen in place.

Another groan whispered through the rubble.

"Mac...." Stella's voice took on an air of caution as another groan echoed a little louder. She reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Danny moved beside the two and stared at his boss.

"What do you think?" His words were twisted with his New York accent, "Is Stell right?"

Mac shook his head, not wanting to admit their defeat. "No. We keep going." He turned and they began to call again as more metal groans echoed through.

"Flack! Angell!"

Stella grabbed Mac's arm. "Did you hear that?" She insisted.

He cocked his head and listened intently. "Is that...."

"Flack." Danny stated.

-&-

Flack cried out in frustration as he pushed the cement block again and again. Sweat poured down his face, soaking his neck and chest.

"Don. Stop, _please_." Angell pleaded as a wave of dizziness passed over her.

He clenched his teeth as a creak of metal sounded. The shudders of the building had gotten closer and closer, and Flack prayed that its inevitable collapse would hold out until rescue came. "I can't. You need to go out of here."

"And so do you. Forcing yourself into unconsciousness isn't going to help either of us!" she snapped and moaned as another light-headed spell attacked.

"I kno- wait!"

"What?"

"Listen...." he responded and turned his head towards the cries.

A faint echo reached his inner ear. It was muffled, but...

"HELP!" Flack cried out and prayed that his voice was heard.

-&-

"They're over there!" Mac pointed and began to furiously climb over debris. "We're coming, Flack, hold on!"

"Mac, wait!" Stella called as she tried to chase after him through the obstacle course of sharp, twisted metal and coarse cement.

Another shift of debris. Another moan of metal.

Mac turned back in time to see a cement block tumbled down from the floor above, just barely missing Stella as she shrieked and jumped out of the way. It thundered to its resting place, effectively blocking Danny from following the two leaders.

"Hey!" Danny cried.

"Danny," Mac raised his voice, "Are you okay?"

"Fine, boss."

"Try to find another way to reach us. I'm going to keep heading over to Flack and Angell."

He motioned for Stella to follow and turned away.

Neither of them were prepared as all hell broke loose on the building.

-&-

"They're coming, Jess. They heard," Flack breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at her.

"Jess?...Jess!"

Angell lay limp with her eyes closed, and he knew she had passed out. She was pale...too pale, and Flack feared his predictions had been correct. If no one could reach her in time..._no!_ He would not consider that possibility.

"Come on, Jess," he whispered desperately.

A loud thundering noise followed by a high-pitched shriek broke into his thoughts. The floor shook slightly as whatever had fallen found its new location of destruction. Flack laid his head back and listened to the voices as they conversed back and forth. Judging from the pitch, it had to be Mac, Stella, and Danny. The dominant voice- Mac-started to increase in volume, and Flack hoped that he was close.

He started to open his mouth, but was cut off by a deafening roar as beams holding up debris snapped like toothpicks and rained down on him. The floor began to violently shake as the painful moaning of rubble joined in the thundering sound. More shaking, quivering, falling, and suddenly Flack could feel freedom in his upper legs. He cracked an eyelid open and saw the cement block shift off under the intense duress of the earthquake-like state. And then....silence.

-&-

"Mac!" Stella shrieked as the initial jolt of movement forced her off balance and into a pile of shaking concrete and steel. She winced as an edge of metal caught her arm and cleanly sliced into her skin. The roar of movement was deafening, and she saw Mac struggling to reach her. Biting back a cry of pain she pushed herself back up and stumbled over the shaking foundation as she, dodging raining rubble, tried to reach Mac.

"Stella, hold on!" Mac cried and ducked as a chunk of concrete whizzed past his head. No doubt about it, the intact portion of the skyscraper was slowly caving in on itself. Another piece of debris fell, followed by another, and another. Stella was cut off from his line of vision as they began to pile up between them. Mac pushed onward, ignoring the tiny shards of glass and metal that tore into his arms.

"Mac!"

"Stella!"

The shaking stopped as silence once again filled the empty space.

-&-

Flack silently thanked the building for collapsing again as he forced himself onto hands and knees and began to climb towards Angell's still-trapped form. His arm caught on an exposed piece of metal and he held his breath as it ripped his flesh. He wiped the blood on his pants as he reached her and took her face into his hands.

"Jess."

She whimpered as her eyelashes fluttered ever so slightly.

"Shhh, shhh....it's ok. I'm here. I've got you," he reassured her and pressed a quick kiss onto her forehead. "I'm gonna get you out of here," he whispered and moved towards the large steel beam covering her right leg.

He pushed with all his strength and was rewarded as the block slowly inched its way off. Flack paused, allowing his arms to rest for a few seconds and pushed again. The beam landed beside Angell, and her face visibly relaxed at the decreased pressure on her leg. Moving to her left leg, Flack ripped off a piece of his sleeve and wrapped it around the ugly gash that continued to leak blood.

Panting, Flack laid down beside her and waited for his breathing to return to normal. Exhaustion fell over him and he closed his heavy eyes as he briefly rested.

"Don?" A whisper. He opened his eyes and stared into her chocolate brown ones.

"Hey. Welcome back," he grinned and took Angell's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Can we get out of here now?" she asked. A tiny amount of color had returned to her face, but she was still so pale.

"You ready to give it a try?" Flack searched her eyes for her well-known determination.

Angell grinned slightly as her cop attitude began to return. "Let's do it."

-&-

**Reviews? You know you want to..... :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here is the latest installment....and you didn't have to wait almost a month like usual!! :) :)**

-Chapter 12-

Flack slowly stood up and took in the area surrounding him, searching for a way to escape. His eyes shifted back and forth through the rubble and looked for an opening large enough to allow him and Angell to pass through easily. An area to his right caught his eye.

"There," he mumbled to himself. The tops of two rectangular steel beams had managed to crash against each other, effectively making a triangular passageway filled with pieces of debris that would be about as high as his hips, even higher on Angell. Enough of an opening was left that the couple could most likely crawl through. Flack just prayed that the other side led to a way out of the building. He turned back towards Angell, still lying on the crooked floor.

"I got us a way out. You think you can stand?" He searched her eyes.

"Yeah," she croaked. "Just help me up."

Flack extended his hand as Angell sat up. Slowly grabbing her delicate fingers, he took the most of her weight as he gently pulled her up beside him. She inhaled sharply at the pressure in her left leg caused by standing.

"You okay?" Flack was concerned. He started to wonder if he should carry Jess, and then quickly chastised himself at the very thought. She was stubborn enough to want to walk out herself and declare to the outside world that she, Detective Jessica Angell, was okay.

"Alright, then, let's get moving. There's a small passageway over there," Flack told her as he pointed to the distant triangular form of the beams.

-&-

Stella groaned as she slowly opened her eyes and took in her new surroundings. The somewhat formed path that they had tried to follow to Flack and Angell was probably now completely gone. Piles of stone and steel lay in front of her, blocking her view of her partner.

"Mac?" She called hesitantly.

"Stella? Is that you?" A voice.

Not Mac.

Think. Focus. Stella forced the cobwebs of confusion out of her aching head and pushed herself up to sit. "Danny?"

"Yeah. It's me." He sounded close. Stella turned her head and saw a new hole in the passageway that had separated them. Danny lay under a pile of minor debris and started to push it off, coughing at the uprising dust. Quickly Stella was up and close to him, helping him clear the garbage holding him down.

"Where's Mac?" Danny looked up at her as he freed his arms and legs.

Stella hesitated. "I-I don't know."

-&-

Angell shuffled slowly, holding her breath in an attempt to mask the intense pain wracking her body. Her leg throbbed and her ribs sent sharp shooting pains through her frame with each step she took. She continued on, pausing every few steps for a quick breath, sweet oxygen mixed with dry, choking dust. Flack's arms were snaked around her and offered support and stability. Had the situation been vastly different, their closeness would have only been fuel on the fire of their increasing attraction for each other. She tripped on a hunk of metal and nearly went down, but was held up by the strength of his gentle, yet firm hands.

"Jess?" he looked doubtful as to whether or not she could continue.

Angell clenched her teeth together. "I'll be fine." She tried not to snap.

Five more steps to go. The steel beams' ominous presence grew closer and closer, and so did their escape.

-&-

"Mac?" Stella called, almost frantically looking around at the surrounding mess. He was there...somewhere. "Mac!"

"Great, just great. We come in here all valiant-like and ready to save two people and end up going after three..." Danny ranted in his raspy voice.

Stella sent him a heart-stopping glare that could send chills through even the most stubborn person. Danny shrugged and sheepishly grinned like a five-year-old. "I was only kiddin.'"

"Well stop it, and start looking for Mac. The sooner we find him-"

"-the sooner we find Flack and Angell," a weak voice stated.

Stella froze. "Mac?" she called.

Danny snorted. "Remember that case a while back? Flack said you two had been working together too long. I think he's right."

Stella ignored him. "Mac, where are you?"

-&-

"You ready?" Flack stood by Angell as the couple prepared to climb through the small opening. Looking at her, he had many doubts but knew that they couldn't afford to turn back. Angell's condition could only get worse as time passed. They had to get out before something else happened.

"I can handle it," Angell took Flack's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She smiled at him, but her eyes still held the pain that he knew she was enduring. He shook off the hesitation and moved behind her. Placing careful attention to not touch her possibly broken ribs, he firmly grabbed her hips.

"Okay, on the count of three I'm going to lift you up. One....two....three."

He hoisted Angell into the opening.

-&-

"_One...two...three."_

Angell heard Flack's voice behind her and knew he was trying to mask his fear. Suddenly she was weightless and the change in position made her dizzy. The hole was right in front of her, but it started to spin.

"Jess, grab the debris. I'll push you the rest of the way, you won't have to pull yourself up at all," Flack's voice sounded different, farther away.

She put her hand out, but the fact that she was swimming in her surroundings made it difficult to get a clear picture of what was in front of her.

"I-I can't do it, Don." She felt blood rushing from her face and her head began to pound incessantly.

"Jess, _try!_" He sounded miles away.

"I can't!"

"Jess!"

"Put me down!" she cried. Taunting black spots began to dance in front of her, blocking any effort to reach the opening. They moved fluidly, some melting together, others dividing, multiplying their efforts. Angell was barely aware that she was now level with Flack, slouched against his body for support, her own no longer able to provide any by itself. He looked down at her. She saw his lips move, but the words never reached her ear. The spots joined together, and then she saw nothing.

-&-

Mac choked and sputtered on the disturbed dust that swirled around him as Stella and Danny cleared the rubble from around his body and helped him up. The building's collapse had successfully pinned him into the debris and briefly knocked him unconscious. As he stood up, he only needed to quickly glance into Stella's eyes to see the gratitude and relief that radiated from them. One of them could have ended up a lot worse. He gave her a rueful half-smile as he touched a tender spot on his forehead. He would definitely have a bruise tomorrow. "Shall we continue?"

The reunited trio began to climb once again.

-&-

Flack shifted Angell's unconscious body in his arms as he tried to determine a way to maneuver them both out of the opening at the same time. He had known that collapse was a mere handful of seconds away as soon as she had tried to hold onto the debris surrounding the passage. He had refused to give in to her demands to be put down, hoping that maybe his sheer willpower would keep her conscious until they reached the other side. One look at her dazed, unaware face when he had put her down and he knew that he needed another plan.

She was like a rock. He chuckled inwardly at the thought and knew that Angell would have a fit if he ever called her that. Flack looked down at her again and forced himself to think of an alternate plan.

Thankfully it found him.

"Flack! Angell!" The combined voices of Mac, Stella, and Danny reached his ears and he could barely hold in his excitement.

"We're over here, by the steel beams," he yelled.

"There are a lot of those," he heard Danny shout back.

Flack rolled his eyes. "You see the two that are collapsed together at the top?"

"Yeah, we see it."

"We're right on the other side," he glanced down at Angell, "...and Danny?" he added.

"Yeah, Don?"

"Hurry."

-&-

**So I tried to not put a cliffhanger in there. I'm not sure if I succeeded or not. Completely resolving EVERYTHING in a chapter is just not my style. Sorry, but I hope you enjoyed it!! **

**Happy New Year's Eve!!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_Beep......_

_Beep......_

_Beep....._

_Beep...._

The reassuring sound of medical monitors cut through the silence of the pale white hospital room as Don Flack lay sprawled out in an uncomfortable padded metal chair, his feet propped against the windowsill and his right shoulder an awkward pillow for his head. His eyelids felt so, so heavy. He shifted them back to the still figure in the bed to his right. It had been four and a half hours since they had been freed from the clutches of the demolished building, and Angell's condition had not wavered one bit. She had remained limp, fragile, and vulnerable as he had reluctantly handed over his role of protector to the waiting EMS teams, and she was still in that condition. Flack lifted his fingers and gently brushed them over the stitches in his forehead. The numbing pain medication he had received in the emergency room was wearing off, leaving him with an aching headache. As soon as he had been cleared from the ER's care he had rushed up to Angell's floor to protectively take over again.

"Flack."

Don looked up and saw Mac standing just inside the door holding a small black duffel bag in his hand.

"Thanks man," Flack said softly, his eyes remaining on Jess.

Mac crossed the room and sat down in an adjacent chair. He handed the bag to Flack along with an apartment key. "I grabbed about three days worth of clothing from your closet. Nothing fancy...jeans, t-shirts, a sweatshirt. Don't worry, Stella made sure they matched."

The last sentence drew a half-smile from Flack as he pictured Stella scrutinizing his wardrobe choices. "I appreciate it."

Mac reached out and took hold of Flack's shoulder. "If you need anything, you have our phone numbers. Jess is gonna get through this, Don. She's tough."

Flack sighed and brought his hands up to his face in exhaustion. "I just can't stop thinking...what if I'd gotten there just a little bit sooner? I was so reckless driving over there that I nearly got myself killed. If it hadn't been for that-"

"Stop it, Don." Mac's harsh words stopped Flack in his place. "You can't keep blaming yourself. You did everything you could, so just stop with the 'what if...'s. They're not going to get Angell back any sooner."

A slight knock at the door made Flack look up, and he felt a small bit of tension release as Stella walked in with three cups of steaming coffee. She handed one to Flack as he silently accepted it. Leaning down, she placed her hand on his head and softly kissed his cheek.

"We're here for you, Don."

"Thanks, Stell."

Mac relieved Stella of another cup of coffee as the curly-haired detective moved to Angell's bedside to whisper a few words of encouragement to her. The sight of Angell lying so pale and still in the bed was heartbreaking, especially to her colleagues who knew her vivacious spirit.

After a few rough minutes of held back tears and solemn sighs on everybody's part, Mac stood up.

"I think it's time we head back to the lab. Get some rest and let us know if anything happens."

Flack looked up. "I will, Mac. Thanks."

Mac gave a single nod. "See you soon."

Don watched as Mac placed a guiding hand on Stella's back and led them out of the room. Running his fingers through his tousled hair, he knew that if sleep came it would be fitful and not resting at all. He scooted his chair up next to the bed and took hold of Angell's hand, lacing their fingers together. Leaning forward, he placed his other hand on the side of her head.

"Jess, I'm so sorry..." It was all he could manage to say before his voice broke. He placed his head on her shoulder and let the tears come.

-&-

**I'm sorry that it's so short, but this seemed like a fitting place to end. I will try my hardest to update again soon, but life is crazy. Thanks for sticking with me! **


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Almost inaudible sobs wracked Don's large frame as he continued to rest his head on Angell's shoulder. He felt guilty. There was no way around it, and despite Mac's advice to stop blaming himself, Flack just couldn't bring himself to that point. He lifted his head and took in the heartbreaking sight of Jess in a hospital bed. Don Flack was a strong man, but this was pushing him to his limits of what he could handle. He lifted Angell's hand and gave it a feather-light brush of his lips.

"You're going to get through this, Jess. You have to."

-&-

"Lindsay?" Danny called as he stepped off of the elevator and headed for Lindsay's area of the lab. He felt disgusting. Dirt was smeared across his face and soiled his once light-gray shirt. He had lost his cell phone somewhere in the demolished building and hadn't been able to reach Lindsay on his way back from the lab. Knowing her, he had a feeling that she would probably be frantic with worry. "Lindsay?" He said softly as he approached her from behind.

A short gasp of relief and Lindsay flew into his arms. "Danny! I'm so glad you're okay. I heard about what happened at the crime scene. I've been trying to call you." She said into his chest, her arms wrapped around him.

"Yeah...I lost my phone. Sorry."

She snorted. "Pretty convenient time, Messer. I've been going crazy trying to find you." Lindsay snuggled closer. "Where is everyone?"

"Mac and Stell are on their way back from the hospital, but Flack's staying there with Angell. She'll probably be in there for a few days. "

"I'm just glad you're okay," she murmured. Danny held her close before remembering the object in his pocket. Pulling away from Lindsay, he reached in and pulled out the slender gold chain he had found among the destruction of the building. The heart swung delicately as Danny turned back to Lindsay.

"Wanna make a stop at the hospital?"

-&-

The ride back to the NYPD lab was silent for Mac and Stella. Their usual small-talk was replaced with hushed sighs and the muted noise of city streets. Stella blankly stared out of the passenger side window as the waves of exhaustion began to hit shore. It had been a rough day for all of them. Warmth suddenly enveloped her left hand and she looked over to see Mac gently wrapping his fingers around hers. He gave the embrace a slight squeeze, she felt her green eyes brighten a bit as they met his gray-eyed gaze that told her to hold steady. He was there for her. No words were needed. They were almost never needed. Stella could read his expression as well as he could read hers. Pulling up to curb outside the NYPD, she felt Mac hesitate to release his grip. Leaning over, she brushed a kiss against his rough cheek. Her team...no, _their_ team would make it through.

-&-

Flack stood at the window and stared as the city finally succumbed to the impending darkness of night. Headlights and tail lights of vehicles dashed below the sixth story window. Flack looked up into the sky and wished that he could see the stars. The city's lights and smog and made it impossible for stars to be visible. A slight shuffle behind him made him whirl around...only to be disappointed as he realized it was only a nurse entering to check Jess's vitals and give more medication. The nurse gave Flack a slight smile and half-heartedly murmured something about condolences and hope before disappearing into the hallway. He turned around again and stared at the night. Another shuffle. He didn't bother to turn around. It was probably just that insensitive nurse coming back for a forgotten pen or something.

A whimper.

The shuffle of...sheets?

Flack turned away from the city as hope surged through him.

-&-

Eyelashes fluttered like soft butterfly wings as Angell forced her eyes open and took in her unfamiliar surroundings. Uncertainty and a small amount of panic began to well up in her chest as her chocolate brown eyes frantically shifted back and forth across the room and didn't allow her to clearly focus on anything. Where was she? Pushing up on her elbows, she tried to sit up and winced at the pain in her midsection. Warm strong hands were suddenly wrapped around hers. She looked up....

"Don." She whispered as realization hit. She was in a hospital.

His blue eyes glistened as he took both of her hands in his and bent over to kiss her forehead. "Hey."

Angell felt her own tears begin to fill her eyes and she squeezed Flack's hand. "How are you feeling?"

Don looked at her in disbelief. "I'm fine. You're the one we should be concerned about," he said gently as he brushed his lips across her hand. "You were out for a while...had all of us pretty concerned." Glancing from feet to head, he took in the sight of her, exhausted, bruised, and alive in the soft glow of the small bedside lamp.

"What?" She grinned and questioned in a flirtatious tone only a tone Jessica Angell could manage.

Flack grinned back. "Nothing...just...you still look beautiful."

Flustered, Angell lifted her hand to finger the gold chain around her neck....and found nothing but bare skin and the collar of an itchy hospital gown. Her fingers searched her neckline and tears began to form again as she realized the necklace was gone.

"Jess. What is it? What's wrong?" Flack took hold of her hands and held them tightly.

"My necklace. I-I can't find it." A lone tear fell down her face as she neared the breaking point of exhaustion, pain, and raging emotions. "Don...."

Flack bent down until their foreheads were touching slightly and looked into her eyes. "Calm down. We'll find it. It was probably misplaced in the shuffle of getting you here and settled, and worrying about it now isn't going to help any. You need your rest." He watched as Angell closed her eyes and slightly nodded in agreement. Flack stood up and started to move away but not before Angell took hold of his hand and pulled him back to her for a soft, sweet kiss.

"Thanks," she whispered.

Flack nodded. "Get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up."

-&-

Approaching the correct room, Danny shuffled the huge floral assortment in his hands.

"You _had_ to pick this one? I can barely carry it!" He good-heartedly glared at Lindsay.

She gave him a wicked grin as she reached up and knocked on the half-open door. Flack's soft response gave them permission to enter and she pushed open the door. Angell was peacefully sleeping in the hospital bed with Flack standing guard in his nearby chair.

"Hey," Don smiled as Lindsay crossed the room to give him a hug.

"We brought you some flowers," Danny rasped.

"Thanks. I'm sure Jess will love them. You guys can sit down if you want." Flack motioned to an empty chair as he stood up to free his.

"Oh that's okay, Flack. We actually can't stay long." Lindsay said, taking the flowers from Danny and setting them on the windowsill.

"I wanted to bring this by," Danny said as he fished inside his pocket and retrieved the slender gold necklace. Flack's eyes widened as he reached out to take it.

"Thank you so much. Jess was so upset about losing it." He gave Danny a one-armed hug.

"I found it in the rubble where we picked you two up. I've seen Angell wearing it, so I knew it was hers. Nice Christmas gift, _Donny_." He winked in jest as Flack playfully hit his shoulder.

-&-

Ten minutes later, Flack said goodbye to Danny and Lindsay and settled back down in his chair beside a still sleeping Jess. She looked peaceful as her soft brown locks gently lay scattered over her shoulders. Fingering the delicate necklace, Flack pressed the gold heart to his lips before reaching down and taking Angell's hand. Setting the necklace in her palm, he closed her fingers into a fist around it and set her hand back on the bed.

Sleep finally came.

-&-

**Sadly this may be the last chapter for a few weeks. My new semester starts tomorrow and is bringing a ton of work along with it. I will try my hardest to make time to update, but this story should be finished within the next chapter or so unless new inspiration strikes. **:)


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